Thursday, 2 August 2018

Friday, August 3, 2018 - Be careful of saying, “I know”, you may miss the Messiah.

The incident of the rejection of Jesus in his hometown is found
also in Mark 6:1-6. Like Mark, Matthew too leaves Jesus’ hometown unnamed. Yet
many think that Matthew may have been referring to Nazareth where Jesus grew up
(2:23) rather than Capernaum in which Jesus did a lot of his ministry.

While
the people accepted that Jesus did indeed speak and act with authority, they
wondered about the source of this authority. This wonder soon turns to a
negative assessment on their part when they take offence at Jesus. Matthew {unlike
Mark who identifies Jesus as a carpenter (Mk 6:3)} identifies Jesus as the
“carpenter’s son” since he is interested in showing Jesus as Son of Joseph and
so Son of David.

In response to their negative attitude to him, Jesus speaks of
himself as a prophet and identifies himself with the true prophets of Israel.
In Matthew {unlike in Mark where the failure on the part of Jesus to work
miracles is the result of the unbelief of his townspeople (Mk 6:6)} the
initiative rests with Jesus and though able, he does not do many miracles there
because of their unbelief.

We keep expecting people to behave in a particular manner and
sometimes when they do not behave as we expect them to, we tend to get upset.
This happens even with parents and children. While it is not a problem to have
some reasonable expectations, we must also be open to change and realise that
they may not always behave as we expect them to.

About Me

There are four maxims I try to live by. The first is to ALWAYS have CHOICES about everything. The more choices I have, the less the chances of my being disappointed.
The Second is that I try to see my REWARD in the doing of the action itself. I will expect nothing from anyone in return and even expect the very ones I have helped to be ungrateful. It does not matter. I do not mind.
The third is that every stage in my life I try to KNOW where my authority ends. This saves a lot of bother. I am not the General Manager of the Universe. I do what I have to do and leave the rest to God.
The fourth is a readiness to face the consequences of my action. When I make a gaffe I am willing to rectify it and apologize. However, if it cannot be rectified I am ready to face the penalty.